Contacting Owners of Foreclosure Properties
Hi All,
I just finished responding to a post by another BP member about contacting the owners of Foreclosure properties. I thought I would post my response here as well in order to share my journey thus far as a newbie investor: (I revised my response because I forgot a few things!)
I live in Temecula, CA (Near San Diego County) and I'm currently in the process of locating Foreclosed properties slated for Auction. My daily routine (in no particular order) is:
1. Driving for Dollars - This is really putting your finger on the pulse, and a great way to get to know the neighborhoods you want to invest in (or finding out the ones you really, really don't!)
2. Searching the MLS (I have access since I'm an Agent) - Unfortunately, there are very few Foreclosures in my area that are listed on the MLS, and if they are, they generally or not very good deals, which I find out by analyzing the properties using the BP tools and my own Excel Spreadsheet I created.
3. Searching Craigslist for FSBO's, - Again, very few ads even come up for these and they are spotty as far as locations I am interested in. I'm finding that most ads are being placed there by Agents, so not off market like we are all looking for, but this could be different in other parts of the state and country.
4. Checking Auction sites - If I find the property to be of interest, I will drive over there and check it out. Then, research the owner and try to contact them. So far I have been able to speak with neighbors and left notes on doors, and even had one neighbor offer to contact the owner and give them my information.
5. Search the Title Company site that a Rep gave me access to- I can search for Foreclosures in specific areas and create a list, then pay 0.06 cents per record. The next step is to send the owners a postcard. I will also be attempting to obtain phone numbers, but haven't got that far yet.
6. Place an ad on Craigslist offering to Buy Homes for Cash - So far no responses, but I continue to renew my ad and change it up each time. In my area there are literally hundreds of similar ads posted, as this is a highly competitive market!
7. Analyzing deals - I am continuously analyzing deals using the BP tools and my own Excel Spreadsheet. At first it was VERY time consuming, but the more I do it, the faster I get!
All this while being a single Mom to 3 kids, (my youngest has been pulling on my arm the entire time I am writing this post because she wants me to watch YouTube Videos with her, but I have to tell her Mommy is working, just give me 15 minutes which could be a topic for a whole other post!)
I've been at this pretty much daily for about 3 weeks now, but haven't received any solid responses...YET.. I'm NOT GIVING UP!
I have some friends who are successful Investors and they have told me in my market I will get about a 1/2 percent response rate to any DM, and that's just people contacting me, then I will still need to vet those calls and try to secure a deal. One of my friends sends out 5000 postcards per month! Unfortunately, I don't have the budget for that now, so it's all on me to do as much of the grind as I can.
Everyone wants the easy, simple answer to how they get Foreclosed properties, but the truth is, it takes time, energy, research, networking, studying, money for advertising/gas/marketing materials, etc., and most importantly, persistence!
In the next few weeks, I have no doubt that I will be posting on BP that I have secured my first property, because I am willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done!